18. Hail
Hail
T hat night, I lay awake listening to Allie breathing beside me, her words from dinner echoing in my mind. Her fierce determination to create, to build permanence through pottery, wasn’t about finding a new hobby. It was about reclaiming the part of herself that had been stolen.
I understood why she’d cried over that lopsided bowl. It represented everything she’d lost and was fighting to get back. The courage it took to open herself to art again, to vulnerability, humbled me.
All my instincts screamed at me to claim her fully, to make her mine in every way possible. The urge was so strong it made my hands shake with the effort of restraint. But she needed time, needed to feel safe before taking that final step.
I could wait. I’d wait forever if that’s what she needed. But lying here beside her, breathing in her scent, feeling the warmth radiating from her small body was the sweetest torture imaginable.
She looked so peaceful in sleep, free from the worry lines that had become permanent fixtures during her waking hours. I wanted to smooth them away with my fingertips and kiss every trace of fear from her features until she never knew worry again.
She needed rest, and I needed to stay alert.
Tressa lay on her bed in the corner, her ears twitching at every sound from outside. Even in sleep, we were all on guard. The wolf lifted her head, meeting my eyes in the darkness, and I saw my own protectiveness reflected there. She understood what Allie meant to us both.
My mate shifted beside me, murmuring in her sleep, and my heart clenched with love so fierce it bordered on pain.
This incredible female had walked into my quiet life and turned everything upside down in the best possible way.
Before Allie, I’d thought contentment was enough.
Now I understood the difference between existing and truly living.
Dawn came, bringing with it another day spent pretending everything was normal while dangerous people hunted the most important person in my world. The thought of Will Carmichael’s operatives out there, planning their next move, made my jaw clench with barely suppressed rage.
I slipped out of bed without waking Allie. She looked tiny in our big bed, her hair curled across the pillow.
After dressing quietly, I headed to the kitchen to start the kettle for tea. The familiar routine of measuring herbs helped calm my nerves and gave my hands something to do besides shake with the need to protect what was mine.
Greel was supposed to meet me at six for our morning patrol, a routine I’d established with whoever was standing guard overnight.
The knock on my back door came on time. Greel looked as serious as I felt, his instincts on high alert. He’d sleep today, and I hoped he’d sleep well.
“Ready?” he asked, his voice low to avoid waking Allie. “Ostor’s near the barn, watching.”
“I am. Let’s go.” I turned to Tressa standing in the hallway, her gaze sliding between me and my brother. “Keep Allie safe.”
Tressa gave me a low whoof and padded back to the bedroom.
We rode our sorhoxes in silence through the early morning mist, taking the long route around town to approach the town. The streets were empty except for a few early-rising tourists heading to Sel’s bakery for fresh pastries.
Everything looked normal as we swept past Main Street. Storefront windows gleamed in the morning light, and the flower boxes in front of each bloomed with a profusion of colors.
“Quiet,” Greel said softly. “Maybe they won’t come back. Maybe they’ll give up.”
Neither of us dared believe that.
We were about to turn back when something along the tree line caught my eye. I dismounted, pulled my sword from its sheath, and strode in that direction, Greel following on foot with his own blade in hand.
Inside the woods, I followed the tracks of more than one person, weaving around thick clumps of brush and climbing a short rise. At the top, I stopped, ducking behind a large tree. Greel did the same.
“You saw,” he said.
I grunted.
A large tent had been set up in the small gully between this hill and another beyond. It was a great place to hide. If I hadn’t noticed the bent grass along the tree line, I wouldn’t have thought to look further. Even then, most people would’ve assumed deer or maybe a bear had flattened the grass.
Deer and bears didn’t erect tents.
We watched the area, but it appeared deserted, so we went down to look around. This may not be from Will and his men. Random strangers could’ve drifted in, set up the tent, and decided to make this their new, temporary home. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Random strangers didn’t leave intricate maps of the town in a locked trunk inside their tent, however. Or weapons in the same trunk.
And they didn’t fill bags with night gear and surveillance equipment.
Greel huffed, clearly irritated they’d be this bold.
“It’s them,” I said softly as we left the tent, peering around. I studied the ground in a widening circle, eventually returning to stand with my brother near the firepit. The ashes were stone cold, with weeds starting to grow through them. “They’ve been gone for d-d-days. Maybe a week.”
Greel crouched by the tent, examining the interior more carefully. “Look at this.” He pointed to a layer of dust on the equipment. “And these food containers aren’t just empty, they’re starting to mold.”
I nodded, relief mixing with wariness. “They used this to watch Allie when she first ar-ar-arrived. Before we led them away on the false trail. It doesn’t ap-ap-appear they’ve come back.”
“Makes sense they’d pick this location. It’s a decent vantage point of Main Street and the pottery barn.” Greel stood, brushing off his hands. “But they’ve moved on now.”
I pulled out my phone, photographing everything systematically—the tent setup, the equipment, the cold firepit, and especially the detailed map of town they’d left behind. “Dungar will want to see all of this. And Detective Fernandez.”
“Evidence.” Greel watched me document the scene. “Don’t touch anything else. Leave it to Fernandez and his team.”
I paused at the map, studying the markings. Red X’s at the hotel, my pottery barn, and several other locations around town.
“Except…” I carefully lifted the town map, rolling it up. “If they come back and use this location to hide, they’ll know we found this place when they see this is missing.”
Greel’s grin was sharp. “A subtle message. I like it.”
“Better than destroying everything and losing the chance to find more clues about their behavior here.” I tucked the map under my arm. “Let’s go. We need to tell Dungar about this immediately.”
Feeling better, we returned to our sorhoxes and mounted, urging them onto the road and over the rise and beyond.
“They plan to return,” I said, the growl in my voice making my sorhox snort.
“They may. We can hope they think she’s gone. She’s fled other places and didn’t return. No reason for them to believe she wouldn’t follow the same pattern.”
True, but I wasn’t sure I trusted it.
If they came back… Well, I know what an orc would do and then Will would no longer be a threat.
This was my territory, my business, the place where Allie was learning to trust and create again.
They’d contaminated it with their presence, turned it into a hunting ground when it should be her sanctuary.
They hadn’t tried very hard to hide their presence. Did they think we didn’t know every bit of our own land? The arrogance of their actions made my hands shake with the need to hit something.
“Will you tell Allie?” Greel asked.
The thought made my belly clench so tight it was a physical pain. “She’s on the edge all-all the t-t-time. She’ll remind me that-that…staying here puts everyone in danger.”
“Doesn’t it?”
I turned to face my brother, seeing the concern in his dark eyes mixed with determination. “Are you suggesting we let her leave for-for-forever?”
“I’m suggesting we prepare for a fight, because whether she runs or stays, they’re not giving up.
No one leaves that much equipment behind if they’re tracking someone.
They must’ve suspected we were trying to lead them away, so they’ll be back.
Not sure when, but soon. And no, I don’t want her leaving.
At least if she’s here, we can protect her.
” He scanned the area. “I expect we’ll see them around town soon.
If we’re lucky, Fernandez’s team will grab them. ”
“Yup.” What were the odds of that?
The ride back to the ranch felt like the longest of my life. Every hoofbeat carried me closer to a conversation that would shatter the fragile peace Allie and I had built. I hated the idea of watching fear creep back into her eyes when she’d started to feel safe.
But she deserved the truth. Then she could make informed decisions about her own life, even if those decisions might break my heart into pieces too small to reassemble.
We split up when we reached town, me riding toward my home, him to Dungar’s office to update him on the news.
I left the map in the barn and told Ostor to go home, that I’d keep an eye on the house.
Inside, I found Allie making breakfast, humming softly as she scrambled chumble eggs.
The domestic scene made my chest tighten with longing so fierce it stole my breath.
Her hair was still mussed from sleep, and she wore my shirt from yesterday, the fabric hanging on her small frame.
This was what I wanted, quiet mornings with my mate, simple routines built around shared meals and gentle conversation. The kind of life where the biggest worry was whether we had enough nimmel bread for breakfast.
“Morning.” She smiled over her shoulder at me with so much warmth it made my knees weak. “How was patrol?”
“We need to talk.”
Her smile faded, wariness sliding into her expression. “That doesn’t sound good.”